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Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Spotlight and Giveaway: The Gown

We're pleased to introduce The Gown by Jennifer Robson. It was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. Thanks to William Morrow, we have one copy to give away!

London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and Holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?

“Marvelous and moving, a vivid portrait of female self-reliance in a world racked by the cost of war.”
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network

“Robson has managed to craft a story that is personal and universal, timely and timeless.”
— Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale

Photo by Natalie Brown

Jennifer Robson is the USA Today and #1 Toronto Globe & Mail bestselling author of Somewhere in France and Goodnight from London. She holds a doctorate in British economic and social history from Saint Antony’s College, University of Oxford, where she was a Commonwealth Scholar and an SSHRC Doctoral Fellow. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and young children.

With The Gown, Jennifer drew from her academic background, as well as from two years of research, including interviews with the last surviving seamstress who worked on Elizabeth’s gown, Betty Foster, and visits with the master embroiders at Hand & Lock, a bespoke hand embroidery atelier in London. At Hand & Lock, Robson reconstructed one of the distinctive star flower motifs from Elizabeth’s wedding gown.

32 comments:

My last wedding gown wasn't very fancy. It just had pleats all over it and skinny spaghetti straps to hold it up. It was the first one I tried and only cost $100. This book sounds really good. I hope I get the chance to read it.

I bought an off white cream dress that was sleeveless but I had short sleeves added due to the time of year (I got married in November). It was a sheer sleeve. There was some embroidery on top and a tiny bit on the skirt part of the dress. It was a Pronovias dress. I bought the dress in May and I am glad that the sleeves were added as I had surgery on the upper part of one arm shortly before my wedding. I am having a hard time describing it but I went to about 10 different places looking for a dress and it was the one that caught my attention and now 20 yrs later I still am glad that was the one I picked.

My wedding gown was a beautiful floor length gown with a sheer, lace trimmed overlay and train and sleeves. It had a sweetheart neckline trimmed in the same lace. I wore a hat (it was 1981 LOL) with a small, light veil that rested on the hat after the ceremony. I had seen the dress in a magazine and searched for it for months. It was the first one I tried on and I fell in love. No other dress I tried came close.

My favorite dress which was vintage and fit beautifully was from 1950. Gorgeous baby blue and chiffon material which flowed and was perfect for dancing. Fitted bodice and belted waist which made me feel light as a feather.

My wedding dress made me cry as soon as I put it on. It had short sleeves, which was definitely unusual. Also had a sort of wrap style, which made me look like I had a waist and a corset back. The prettiest dress I have ever owned.

My mother found a Jessica McClintock dress in clearance at our local dress shop. It's old-fashioned style, long dress with sheer sleeves with lacy cuffs and sheer neckline with flowered collar, fitted waist line. The dress was silky and simple with only the cuffs, collar and lacy trim along neckline. I had a white veil with flowered headband. My thought when I saw it was that it was perfect for me. It fit me perfectly.

My wedding gown I purchased online and it was a mix of traditional and modern style: short sleeves and a little bit "princess" style and it was white. For after the ceremony, I wore a Chinese traditional red gown made of Chinese satin with golden details. This wedding gown was the prettiest dress I have ever owned.

My wedding gown was a dream! I had tried on several dresses and my sister insisted that I try on this certain dress and I didn't care for it on the hanger, but I obliged. As soon as I turned to look in the mirror, I started tearing up. I couldn't believe it. It was perfect. I felt like a princess on that day in 1999 and I absolutely loved it. It was $800 which was a lot of money for one day, but I was so blessed to have parents who were willing to spend that much money for my wedding dress.

I've been hearing so much about this one! My dress was strapless and floor length with no train, very plain - I got married on the beach so I didn't want to sweat, or have a long train to drag around the sand :) And I was barefoot!

I know it is now thought old fashioned, but my mother made my wedding dress almost 42 years ago . She was very skilled at sewing. It was a Juliet style gown in creamy satin with long sleeves for our February wedding. I had purchased a white lace mantilla to go with it. She wanted a perfect match, so she made another lace mantilla and dyed it with tea to exactly match my gown. It was simple and very elegant.

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